Jeffersonâ€™s fears about America might be here

November 14, 2012

Daniel Gardner
Contributing
Columnist

Thomas Jefferson said, â€śWhen we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe.â€ť
How prophetic or just plain insightful was that! Just for referenceâ€™s sake, according to the 1790 Federal Census Report, New York state had a â€śFree White Populationâ€ť of 314,142 and a â€śSlave Populationâ€ť of 21,324, much smaller than Virginiaâ€™s FWP of 442,117 and SP of 292,627.

Among all the blames and credits pundits and political types have ascribed to the presidential election, the most glaring has gone relatively unremarkable: the rural-metro gap. Look at electoral maps and see red blanketing America with little sprinkles of blue in metro counties.

American voters in metro areas or with progressive/liberal values have become like adolescents who want to be anybody but themselves. They want to be more like Europe or some mythical utopian state where political correctness reigns and everyone is equal in every way including equally wealthy â€¦ at least, everyone they like and nobody they despise. They want the rich to know what itâ€™s like to be poor, and the powerful to have their come-uppance.

We need to be reminded weâ€™re not living in a Hollywood movie where good guys always win. Weâ€™re still living down here on planet earth where God has subjected â€śthe creationâ€ť to futility â€¦ at least according to Romans 8:20. But, He subjected everything to futility â€śin hope.â€ť And I hope Americans will come to their senses and realize weâ€™ve always been different from Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East and the rest of the world.

As Paul Ryan said so eloquently, America is an idea! A land of opportunity like no other nation on earth. A land where anyone with enough drive can succeed well beyond the limits placed on individuals in every other nation.

By a super slim margin of a couple of percentage points, metro voters have reelected the most progressive/liberal extremist ideological president in our history who is transforming America from a land of opportunity into a nation of sheep governed by an all-powerful federal government supported by an ultra-elite mainstream media, creating a two-class system common in the rest of the world where government and media rule and everyone else is reduced to â€śthe workforce.â€ť

We have become as corrupt as Europe. Look at Washington, Democrats and Republicans and all the bureaucrats who increasingly interfere in the daily lives of all Americans. Tell me weâ€™re different from Europe. Europe is imploding under her massive indebtedness and unsustainable social entitlement programs. And, Europeans are rioting in the streets against the very governments our politicians aspire to mimic here!

Yes America is a polarized and divided land, but not by gender, race or ethnicity. In rural America folks help each other regardless of race, gender or ethnicity. Weâ€™re all part of communities and families and friends. We see needs and we meet those needs. Thereâ€™s no time to wait for the sluggish and inefficient federal government to waddle in to help us in times of crises. We help each other. Itâ€™s the neighborly, biblical thing to do. Itâ€™s part of our roots. Not so in metro areas where people are more isolated in huge crowds of strangers where the God of heaven is a myth and Government (big G) has replaced god (little g).
I fear as Jefferson feared we have become corrupt.